Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

ततो मणिस्तंभविराजमानं हिरण्मयद्वारकपाटतोरणम् । महार्हनीलामलवज्रवेदिकं तदेव जातं शिबिरं शिवालयम्

Transliteration

tato maṇistaṃbhavirājamānaṃ hiraṇmayadvārakapāṭatoraṇam | mahārhanīlāmalavajravedikaṃ tadeva jātaṃ śibiraṃ śivālayam

Translation

അപ്പോൾ അതേ ശിബിരം ശിവാലയമായി രൂപാന്തരപ്പെട്ടു—രത്നസ്തംഭങ്ങൾ തിളങ്ങി, സ്വർണ്ണദ്വാരകപാടങ്ങളും തോരണങ്ങളും ശോഭിച്ചു, അമൂല്യമായ നിർമല നീലമണികളും വജ്രങ്ങളും പതിച്ച വേദികയോടുകൂടി।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb: 'then/thereupon')

• maṇi-stambha-virājamānam: shining with jewel-pillars
• maṇi-stambha-virājamānam: Karma (कर्म/वर्ण्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + stambha (प्रातिपदिक) + vi-√rāj (धातु) → virājamāna (कृदन्त)
• Form: समास (तत्पुरुष-प्रधान: 'shining with jewel-pillars'); कृदन्त (शानच्/वर्तमानकृदन्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (śibiram/śivālayam)

• hiraṇmaya-dvāra-kapāṭa-toraṇam: having golden doors, panels, and archways
• hiraṇmaya-dvāra-kapāṭa-toraṇam: Karma (कर्म/वर्ण्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hiraṇmaya (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक) + kapāṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + toraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: 'with golden doors, door-panels and arches'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahārha-nīla-amala-vajra-vedikam: with a platform of precious blue flawless diamonds
• mahārha-nīla-amala-vajra-vedikam: Karma (कर्म/वर्ण्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahārha (प्रातिपदिक) + nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + amala (प्रातिपदिक) + vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + vedikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: 'with a platform of precious blue spotless diamonds'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle: 'indeed/just')

• jātam: became/appeared
• jātam: Kriya (क्रिया/भवति-अर्थ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय-भाव (predicate: 'became/was born')

• śibiram: a camp/pavilion
• śibiram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śibira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्-समनाधिकरण (in apposition with tat)

• śiva-ālayam: Śiva’s temple
• śiva-ālayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'abode/temple of Śiva'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समनाधिकरण (appositional)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivālaya (manifested pavilion-shrine)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A humble pavilion suddenly becomes a resplendent Śiva-temple: jeweled pillars, golden doors and archways, and a raised altar inlaid with flawless blue gems and diamonds, glowing with divine light.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śivālaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s grace can manifest tangibly, transforming ordinary space into sacred space when devotion is present.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific named tīrtha is not given; the verse presents a generalized māhātmya motif of a manifested Śivālaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse describes the divine manifestation of a temple-like pavilion.